The present invention relates to water taps, and particularly to water taps for kitchen sinks.
The typical water tap for kitchen sinks comprises a body member attachable to the kitchen sink and having first and second ports for connection to the hot and cold water supply lines, respectively, of the kitchen sink; a mixing device coupled to the first and second ports for mixing the water therefrom; a discharge nozzle for discharging the mixed water from the tap; and a manual valve for controlling the water flow from the first and second ports to the mixing device and discharge nozzle.
In recent years, there has been a growing tendency to use treated water, e.g., water which has undergone special filtering treatments to remove foreign particles therefrom. Special installations are usually required for supplying such treated water, which involves a significant installation expense. U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,348 discloses a water tap capable of also dispensing filtered water besides the regular hot and cold water, but that water tap includes separate valves, each having its own manually-controlled valve operator, for each of the hot water, cold water and filtered water supplies.